In Bangladesh, the Solidarity Center aims to advance worker rights in important industries, promote constructive and peaceful labor-management relations, and improve both the rule of law and the economic vitality of Bangladesh as a whole.
 |
| |
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with more than 150 million people crammed into an area the size of Wisconsin. Its 60-million-member workforce is primarily made up of farmers—tea and rice are two important crops. Nearly 2 million workers, mostly women, are employed in ready-made garment factories, where production grew at double-digit rates throughout the 1990s, and many more work in export processing zones. Hundreds of thousands are part of Bangladesh’s burgeoning seafood processing industry.
In 2004, a groundbreaking law allowed the establishment of worker associations in EPZ factories for the first time—a step toward genuine union representation. A new labor code, enacted in 2006, also seemed promising, even though it carried over many existing restrictions on union and worker rights. But in January 2007, the government imposed a state of emergency that banned union activities. Employers took advantage of the situation to orchestrate systematic harassment of union leaders and break existing unions. Registration of new unions was suspended for the entire year, and implementation of the new labor code was put in abeyance. Routine use of intimidation and violence by employer-hired thugs and local authorities, and impunity for egregious human rights acts, created a palpable climate of fear among union organizers and activists.
In September 2007, the AFL-CIO filed a petition with the U.S. Trade Representative seeking to remove Bangladesh from the list of eligible beneficiary developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences. The petition specifically noted worker rights violations in the shrimp-processing and ready-made garment industries, as well as in the EPZs. As a result, the USTR placed Bangladesh under continuing review to monitor its progress toward a set of worker rights benchmarks. The state of emergency was lifted in December 2008. In April 2009, the AFL-CIO reported that the government and employers of Bangladesh had taken some steps forward, but because of concerns about ongoing worker rights violations, it requested continuation of the review.
Today, worker association elections have been held in roughly 75 percent of all EPZ factories, and in the vast majority workers have voted—sometimes by overwhelming margins—in favor of forming associations. The next challenge for these new organizations is engaging in collective negotiations with employers.
Bangladesh Government Moves to Ease Unionization. May 14, 2013—The Bangladesh Cabinet approved a change to the nation’s labor laws that it says would enable workers to more freely form unions. The proposal, which must be approved by Parliament, would allow workers to join unions without showing the list of union supporters to factory owners to verify their employment—a practice that effectively makes it impossible for unions to gather sufficient support to register with the government because factory owners often penalize or fire workers who support unionization.
Bangladesh: Shoddy Construction Behind Building Collapse. May 3 2013—More than 500 people have now been confirmed dead in last week’s building collapse in Bangladesh, the country’s worst industrial disaster on record. The dead are among the 2,868 victims pulled from the rubble of the eight-story building, which housed five garment factories where thousands of workers toiled on the upper floors.
Bangladesh: Deaths Exceed 300, Warrant Out for Building Owner. April 26, 2013—More than 300 workers now have been confirmed dead from Wednesday’s building collapse in Bangladesh. Some 2,200 survivors have been pulled from the ruins of what is being called one of the worst manufacturing disasters in history. More than 3,000 garment workers were on the job when upper building floors pancaked on top of each other.
Bangladesh Fire Survivors Describe Hardships after Tragedy. April 25, 2013—“The factory caught fire about 6 p.m. After the fire, they did not allow us to go out,” says Nazma. “They locked the gate. The workers were screaming together.” Nazma is among the Tazreen Factory fire survivors in this video who describe the horrific workplace conditions that killed 112 garment workers in November. The unsafe and deadly working conditions at Tazreen are similar to those many Bangladesh garment workers face every day. But for many, living through the fire is just the beginning of their ordeal.
Sumi Describes Surviving the Tazreen Garment Factory Fire. April 25, 2013—Workers Memorial Day, internationally observed each April 28, is more timely than ever this year. The rising death toll from yesterday’s building collapse in Bangladesh and the recent workplace deaths at the fertilizer factory in West, Texas, serve as tragic reminders of how much more needs to be done to ensure the safety and health of workers around the world. As part of Workers Memorial Day events, the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., is hosting a symposium: “From Mourning to Mass Movements: Garment Workers, Fire Safety and the International Fight for Social Justice.”
Solidarity Center Mourns for Workers Killed in Bangladesh. April 24, 2013—Another four garment factories in Bangladesh became death traps today, and the Solidarity Center is mourning the senseless loss of life and the grievous injuries that have befallen hundreds of workers who were simply trying to make a living. The organization is calling on the Bangladesh government to enforce its labor and building codes, on brands that source from the country to prioritize health and safety conditions in factories, and on both to respect the rights of workers and to recognize that the only way Bangladesh will have safe factories is if workers have a voice on the job.
Bangladesh: Deaths Exceed 300, Warrant Out for Building Owner. April 26, 2013—More than 300 workers now have been confirmed dead from Wednesday’s building collapse in Bangladesh. Some 2,200 survivors have been pulled from the ruins of what is being called one of the worst manufacturing disasters in history. More than 3,000 garment workers were on the job when upper building floors pancaked on top of each other.
Bangladesh Fire Survivors Describe Hardships after Tragedy. April 25, 2013—“The factory caught fire about 6 p.m. After the fire, they did not allow us to go out,” says Nazma. “They locked the gate. The workers were screaming together.” Nazma is among the Tazreen Factory fire survivors in this video who describe the horrific workplace conditions that killed 112 garment workers in November. The unsafe and deadly working conditions at Tazreen are similar to those many Bangladesh garment workers face every day. But for many, living through the fire is just the beginning of their ordeal.
Sumi Describes Surviving the Tazreen Garment Factory Fire. April 25, 2013—Workers Memorial Day, internationally observed each April 28, is more timely than ever this year. The rising death toll from yesterday’s building collapse in Bangladesh and the recent workplace deaths at the fertilizer factory in West, Texas, serve as tragic reminders of how much more needs to be done to ensure the safety and health of workers around the world. As part of Workers Memorial Day events, the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., is hosting a symposium: “From Mourning to Mass Movements: Garment Workers, Fire Safety and the International Fight for Social Justice.”
Solidarity Center Mourns for Workers Killed in Bangladesh. April 24, 2013—Another four garment factories in Bangladesh became death traps today, and the Solidarity Center is mourning the senseless loss of life and the grievous injuries that have befallen hundreds of workers who were simply trying to make a living. The organization is calling on the Bangladesh government to enforce its labor and building codes, on brands that source from the country to prioritize health and safety conditions in factories, and on both to respect the rights of workers and to recognize that the only way Bangladesh will have safe factories is if workers have a voice on the job.
Report Examines Garment Factory Fires in Bangladesh, Pakistan. March 15, 2013—Two massive fires at garment factories in Bangladesh and Pakistan last year killed hundreds of workers, many trapped in buildings with inadequate or locked exits. A new report examining both horrific incidents finds that the deaths and injuries were “caused or exacerbated by illegal, unsafe buildings, faulty electrics or machinery, poor safety procedures and avoidable hazards such as blocked or inadequate fire exits.” The report, Fatal Fashions, points out that workers’ lack of freedom to form unions and bargain collectively to improve working conditions underlies this deadly environment.
Bangladesh: Three Months After Tazreen Fire, Little Change. February 20, 2013—Three months after at least 112 workers died in the Tazreen Fashion factory fire, dangerous and deadly working conditions are commonplace for the nearly 2 million Bangladeshi garment workers, who have little recourse than to take jobs that may kill them.
Bangladesh: Seven Women Dead in A Preventable Factory Fire. January 28, 2013—Seven young women, at least two of them teenagers, died over the weekend in a Bangladesh garment factory fire—the 28th fire incident to frighten, injure or kill Bangladeshi garment workers since a deadly blaze at the Tazreen factory killed at least 112 workers in late November, according to Solidarity Center staff in Bangladesh. At least 491 garment workers have been injured on the job since the Tazreen blaze, according to information compiled by the Solidarity Center.
Bangladesh: 17 Garment Fires Since 112 Killed in Tazreen. December 21, 2012—It has been nearly a month since at least 112 Bangladeshi workers died in the horrific fire at Tazreen Fashion Ltd garment factory. A government probe has identified nine mid-level officials “who barred the workers from leaving the factory after the fire broke out,” according to the Bangladesh Daily Star Report. The factory owners kept fabric bales in the building’s basement, rather than in fireproof storage as required by Bangladesh law.
Bangladesh Garment Workers Federation Pledges Action at Factory Level. December 14, 2012—When Kona, a textile worker in Bangladesh, tried to help her co-workers win better conditions on the job, she was harassed to the point where she and her husband were forced into hiding. But through the assistance of the garment workers’ union federation, which negotiated a resolution with management, Kona ultimately resumed her life and work.
Bangladeshi Garment Workers Meet with U.S. Ambassador. December 12, 2012—Bangladeshi garment workers no longer are forced to stay on the job for literally weeks without a break and employers’ physical and verbal abuse has decreased—but significant improvements, especially in factory safety, remain to be made in the country’s important garment industry, several garment union leaders told a high ranking U.S. State Department official last weekend.
Paying with Their Lives: The High Cost of Cheap Clothing. November 28, 2012—Last weekend, more than 110 garment workers died in a fire that burned the Tazreen Fashion Ltd. garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka. Women and men located on the second and third floors of the building were trapped when fire broke out in the first-floor warehouse. With no fire escapes, the only exits were stairs leading to the first floor, where the fire raged.
Bangladesh Protests Deaths of More than 100 Garment Workers. November 27, 2012—The Solidarity Center joins the international labor and human rights communities in expressing sorrow over the unnecessary and tragic loss of life at a Bangladesh garment factory over the weekend. Between 112 and 120 Bangladeshi garment workers—most of them women—have been confirmed killed in one of the nation’s worst industrial disasters in recent memory.
Bangladeshi Garment Workers File for Union at Zilani Apparels. October 22, 2012—Garment workers at Zilani Apparels Ltd., in Rampura, Dhaka, Bangladesh, formed a union in August with the help of the Bangladesh Federation of Workers’ Solidarity (BFWS) and now are waiting for the Labor Department to register it. More than 50 percent of the 350 garment workers at Zilani Apparels have joined together after recognizing that their individual efforts to improve wages and working conditions were not effective, says Fatema, a committee member.
INTERVIEW: Violence Rises against Bangladeshi Garment Workers. October 3, 2012—The murder earlier this year of a Bangladeshi union organizer is part of an escalation of attacks on the nation’s 4 million garment workers who seek to change abusive working conditions, says Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS)
Bangladesh: Group Demands Full Investigation into Murder of Aminul Islam. June 14, 2012—Solidarity Center staff joined family and colleagues of Aminul Islam at a press conference last week to call for justice in Aminul’s murder. Aminul, a union organizer and president of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers’ Federation (BGIWF)’s local committee in the Savar and Ashulia areas of Dhaka, was found dead on April 5, 2012. He had been severely tortured and beaten.
Congressional Hearing Focuses on Worker Rights in Bangladesh. June 20, 2012—Bangladesh's longstanding abuse of worker rights, failure to enforce labor laws, and increasing violence against labor activists, including threats and murder, were the focus of a human rights hearing yesterday on Capitol Hill, where a senior Solidarity Center staffer and other regional and rights experts provided testimony.
U.S. Ambassador Warns against "Tarnishing the Bangladesh Brand." June 8, 2012—U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena warned garment industry leaders in Dhaka that recent developments in the ready-made garment industry, including the unsolved murder of union activist Aminul Islam, could coalesce into “a perfect storm that could threaten the Bangladesh brand” in the United States.
Solidarity Center Panel Keeps Focus on Worker Rights in Bangladesh. May 23, 2012—A report based on in-depth interviews with workers on conditions in shrimp-processing plants in southwestern Bangladesh was released by the Solidarity Center at a public launch on May 16. The event, held at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, DC, was led by panelists Tim Ryan, Asia regional program director, Solidarity Center; Anindita Ghosh, program officer, Solidarity Center Bangladesh; and Sabina Dewan, director of globalization and international employment, Center for American Progress.
Clinton Addresses Worker Rights, Calls for Justice in Aminul Islam Murder at Dhaka Town Meeting. May 10, 2012—During a “Townterview” this week with young Bangladeshi leaders at the International School in Dhaka, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton drew applause in fielding a question about repression of worker rights and the murder of union activist Aminul Islam, a longtime friend and colleague of the Solidarity Center.
New Solidarity Center Report Details Hard Life of "Voiceless and Vulnerable" Shrimp Workers in Bangladesh. April 23, 2012—Despite a labor code that addresses pay, working hours, and on-the-job conditions, Bangladeshi shrimp-processing workers say they still face inadequate health and safety protections at work and receive less than the minimum wage, among other violations of their rights, according to a new report by the Solidarity Center.
Solidarity Center Mourns Death of Aminul Islam. April 16, 2012—The Solidarity Center is appalled at the murder of Aminul Islam, a longtime friend and colleague. Islam, 39, was a plant-level union leader at an export processing zone (EPZ) in Bangladesh, an organizer for the Bangladesh Center for Workers’ Solidarity (BCWS), and president of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation’s (BGIWF) local committee in the Savar and Ashulia areas of Dhaka. He left behind a wife and three children.
Opening the Door to EPZ Unions in Bangladesh. The Solidarity Center helped pass and implement a new law that gives workers the right to organize trade unions in Export Processing Zones.
Victory for Interstoff Workers. In Bangladesh the Solidarity Center helped textile workers defend their right to organize and form a union.
Solidarity Center work with EPZs in Southeast Asia. In Asia's export processing zones, sometimes called "factory cities," thousands of workers, 95 percent of them young women, manufacture clothing, shoes, electronic equipment, and other products for shipment to other countries.
Solidarity Center Publications
- The Plight of Shrimp-Processing Workers of Southwestern Bangladesh (2012). Based on in-depth interviews with hundreds of permanent and contract workers at 36 seafood-processing plants in Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, and Jessore, this 34-page report finds that a largely female, uneducated workforce earns less than men at work, fears speaking out about poor working conditions, and works overtime without commensurate pay.
- The True Cost of Shrimp (2008). In the $13 billion seafood processing industry, workers pay the price for affordability. This report, the second in our Degradation of Work series, uncovers pervasive worker and human rights violations such as low-wage sweatshop conditions, use of child and forced labor, and global supply chains that drive wages down and hide the exploitation of workers.
Learn More
